Pneumatic carrier



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. D. BURTON.

PNEUMATIC CARRIER. No. 379,503. 8 q: Patented MeunlS, 1888.

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3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.) '8

G D BURTON PNEUMATIC CARRIER.

No. 379,503. PatentedMar. 13, 1888.

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'G. D. BURTON.

I PNEUMATIC CARRIER. No. 379,503. Patented Mar. 13, 1888'.

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NITE STATES GEORGE D.'BURTON, OF NEW IPSWICH, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

PNEUMATIC CARRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 379,503, dated March13, 1888.

Application filed April 6,1886. Serial N0.197,937. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE D. BURTON, a citizen of theUnitedStates,residing at New Ipswich, in the county of Hillsborough and Stateof New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPneumatic Oarriers, of which the following isaspecification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention has relation to improvements in pneumatic carriers; andit consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts, as willbe hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The object of my invention is to provide a means for transportingarticles, large or small, from one point to another through air-tighttubes, the parcels to be propelled by pneumatic pressure,which shall actupon the carriers which fit the pipe.

Another object of my invention is to pro-- vide this system withelectrical applications which will serve to indicate the locality of thepackage as it is passing through the pipe.

Another object of the invention is to pro-' vide the pipe with meanswhereby the guide will be automatically raised im mediately upon theexit of the ball or package, even though the electricity should not beflowing at the time, thus leaving in any event the pipe open for thenext package.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of my apparatus.Fig. 2 is aperspective view of a modification of the same. Fig. 3 is adetail view of a portion of the pipe, showing how the parcel comingthrough the pipe indicates its location. Fig. 4 is a detail view of theoutside of one of the traps in the pipe. Fig. 5 is a longitudinalsectional view of a modification of the trap. Fig. 6 is a longitudinalsectional view of Fig. 5, showing the latch which operates the trap.Fig. 7 is a side View, partly in perspective, of a section of the pipe.Fig. Sis a longitudinal sectional view of a part of the pipe. Figs. 9and 10 are detail end views of the pipe. Fig. 11 is a view of the ballmade in section and partly broken away to show its construction.

Fig. 1 represents a continuous pipe running from two stations, A and B,each of which stations is provided with a pump, B, which may be eitherforce or suction pumps, whichever may be preferred, so that if the pumpB at station A is a suction-pump it will serve to draw parcels from thestation B, or vice versa, and if B is a force-pump it will force parcelsto the station B, and vice versa. About midway between the stations Aand B the pipe is provided with an intermediate station, 0, which iscomposed of a trap, G, hinged to the pipe at one end, and is made toconform to the general contour of the pipe in such a manner that when itis closed the pipe is completed and the inner surface thereof isunbroken..

The trap G may be held in its closed position by a spring, G as shown inFig. 4.

I wish it to be understood that I may arrange traps similar to the oneabove described to be operated by electrical connections at any pointalong the body of thepipe. The traps G at both ends of the pipe areconstructed as shown in the drawings, and are to be opened by hand; butI can also construct them to be opened the same as the trap G at station0.

Immediately beneath the trap G is a pivoted shoe, d, having connectionwith an armature, L, preferably formed with a perforation to receive thepipe, and also having connection with a guide, M situated within thepipe.

L represents an electrical battery, with the opposite poles of which areconnected wires L L bending to the coil of an electromagnet, L situatedimmediately above the armature L and which serves, when the circuit isclosed and the current flowing, to hold the guide M in its uprightposition by attracting the said armature L. When it is desired to havethe ball or package leave the pipe, the circuitis opened, causing theelectro-magnet to release the armature, and the guide, then droppingacross the pipe to the position shown in Fig. 8,will obstruct thefurther passage within the pipe of the ball or package, causing the sameto make its exit therefrom by opening the trap G.

It will be quite obvious that the opening and closing of the circuit isaccomplished by moving the switch E in certain directions.

position by the attraction of the said armature to the electro-magnet ifthe circuit is closed. It will thus be seen that in the event of afailure to close the circuit immediately upon the exit of the ball orpackage from the pipe the guide will nevertheless be raised to itsupright position, and thus no obstruction will be formed to the freepassage within the pipe of another ball or package closely following thefirst, but traveling to a different destination, and its miscarriagewill therefore be prevented. The action of the ball upon the guide isonly for an instant, as, obviously, when it is removed from the pivotedshoe the guide, if the current of electricity is not flowing, will dropacross the pipe; but the time the ball remains on the shoe is ordinarilyenough to compensate for any delay in closing the circuit. Should thedelay be intentional-as, for example, in the event of another packagebeing sent to the same stationthe former ball will not remain upon thepivoted shoe a sufficient length of time to permit the latter to passbeyond. When the ball has left the pipe, the trap G will drop to itsclosed position by the force of gravity, or will be closed by the springG when such is provided.

The letter I represents an electrical battery, having connected theretoa wire, I, which is spirally wound around or otherwise connected to themagnet I. The wire I has also in its circuit the circuit makers andbreakers D D at the signal-station D attached to the outer surface ofthe pipe, the inner surface of said pipe being provided with springs hh, which are attached to the breakers and makers D D, whereby when theball is either coming or going through the pipe it will force thesprings h h outward, completing the circuit and causing the bell J toring to indicate the position of the parcel passing through the pipe.

In Fig. 1 I show two circuitclosers, thus securing two strokes of thebell; but it will be quite obvious that either station may have anydesired number of these circuitclosers without departing from the spiritof my invention.

The ball M, which travels in the pipe, is made in sectionsE E. Theformer section, E, is provided with pins 0, which engage perforations inthe section E. It is also provided with shoulders e which rest onprojections e of the section E. This section E is provided with notches6 which receive the hook ends e of the spring-clamps E, which arepivoted to the section E, as shown at e, Fig. 11, having bent perforatedends which are seated in a recess, E of the section E. A pin, F having acoiled spring, F, serves to release the hook ends 6 of the clamps bypressure on the thumb-head F. I attach importance to the ball asconstructed, which is securely locked together,and which will passthrough the pipes withoutinterruption, there being no projection on theouter periphery of the ball,as thespringclamps and means for operatingthem are all This system can be employed to advantage for a rapidtransmission of merchandise, mail,

grain, 850., and the advantage of having the stations electricallyconnected for the purpose of opening and closing said stations is thatthe action of. electricity is quicker than that of air, thus obviatingany delay to succeeding packages intended for stations farther ahead.

Fig. 2, a modification, shows a continuous pipe operated by a doublepump, which may be constructed with two cylinders operating as a forceor a suction pump. The switch-board, bells, and buttons may all belocated in the office at the sending or receiving station, or both. Thusthe operation is entirely under the management of one or two persons,who may communicate with each other by telegraph, telephone, or signal.

It is intended that my system be laid underground forlong-distancecommunicatiomusing a series of pipes. It can also be utilized for a cashsystem in stores or for communications between stores, offices, &c.

Having fully described my invention, I wish it to be understood that Ido not limit myself to the precise construction shown in the drawingsand described in my specification, as it is quite apparent that they maybe varied in shape and details of construction without departing fromthe general spirit and scope thereof.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a pneumatic carrier, the ball made in sections and securedtogether by pins and spring-clamps, as shown and described.

2. A ball for pneumatic carriers,constructed substantially as described,and provided with a spring-clamp which is set into the ball below theplane of the surface of the ball, and said clamp operated by aspring-button, substantially as described.

3. A ball for pneumatic carriers, made in sections, one of which isprovided with a shoulder and a notch, the other having a projection, andpivoted clamps having hook ends adapted to engage the notch, as shownand described.

4. In a pneumatic carrier, asystem of pipes having traps pivotedthereto, and a ball or carrier, in combination with a pivoted shoebeneath each of the said traps, a guide and an armature connectedthereto, and an electromagnet, all arranged to operate in the manner andfor the purposes herein set forth.

5. A pneumatic carrier consisting of a series of pipes provided withtraps pivotally secured to the pipes at their upper extremities, springsconnecting the traps with the pipes, substantially as described, wherebythe traps will be automatically closed when the ball or IIO carrier haspassed through them, and the said ball or carrier, in combination withpivoted shoe, armature connected thereto, and electromagnet forattracting the said armature.

5 6. In a pneumatic carrier, the combination,

with the system of pipes and their traps pivoted thereto and connectedtherewith by springs, substantially as shown, of a pivoted shoe beneatheach of the said traps, a guide 10 connected with the said shoe, and aball or carrier adapted to be propelled through the said pipes, allarrranged to operate in the manner and for the purposes herein setforth.

7. In a pneumatic carrier,the system of pipes 15 and their pivoted trapor traps, the lowermost GEO. D. BURTON.

Witnesses:

E. F. PERKINS, CHAS. F. Animus.

